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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24781678">Two Wrongs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamDaiBae/pseuds/IamDaiBae'>IamDaiBae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>All I ever write is modern aus, But now I have an idea, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Modern AU, Not gonna lie i didn't know what their dynamic would be, all friends, except not exactly, no benefits essentially, sylvain gets his patience tested, their dynamic is hard to explain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:13:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,418</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24781678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamDaiBae/pseuds/IamDaiBae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m not looking for baggage, but maybe when you’ve cleaned up a bit.” She added in, and the selective hearing in Sylvain kicked in and he had the cheekiest grin when he once again looked into her eyes.</p><p>“But you’re considering it, right?”</p><p>-------------<br/>The brainworms made me do it, and honestly I'm kind of invested in this trope. Out of every two characters, I think it would work the best with these two.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hapi/Sylvain Jose Gautier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Am I slightly sorry that the first (That I've seen) Hapivain fic is a shameless self-indulgent trope? Maybe, but this was a fun challenge to write so I hope at least someone enjoys this as much as I did!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sylvain had a checklist of what made a good party. Loud music, good food, better booze, and lovely women he could waste the night away talking to. As he stood in the middle of the party, he let himself nod along to whatever song was playing, his eyes scanning the crowd for the next perfect candidate to try his charms on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain Jose Gautier, resident playboy and heart-breaker. Most known for being a model, ex-athlete and next in line to take over his father’s company when he was going to be serious about it. Sylvain was a well known man, everywhere he went there was always someone that knew who he was, whether it was in a good or bad light. Like his manager always told him, any publicity was good publicity, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was one of his childhood friend’s birthdays, and they just so happened to be the most important person in Faerghus. For Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd’s birthday, he as well as Dimitri’s other closest friends planned a huge party in the biggest and best bar in Fódlan. Surprisingly, it was Ingrid who had the connections to set something up. The straight edged square herself somehow had a connection to rent out the most popular bar for Dimitri’s birthday? Part of him wondered just who Ingrid knew, but when she told him the name, he was unfamiliar with it. The nightclub itself was called Abyss and it was extremely difficult to get in, yet when Ingrid made a meeting with the owner, he was more than happy to host for them. And now here they were, in this nightclub where Dimitri was getting swarmed by friends and acquaintances alike, seemingly quite drunk already. It made Sylvain grin to see that the typically stuck-in-the-mud “prince” was having a good night, especially with some girls eagerly chatting him up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For Sylvain, he was sure that every woman had known who he was, and he used that to his advantage. His phone filled with numbers he would never call after tonight, not to mention a few of them happened to be daughters of very important people that could help him further his career. That’s all these parties were for him, an excuse to get drunk and stupid, and to advance himself in this shitty circle he’s found himself in. When he had gone for a new drink at the bar, he could hear a few women directly from behind him gossiping, talking about him. Though it was hard to make out what they were saying over the loud music, he was able to pick out a few words. For most people, they’d want to know what they were saying or defend themselves, but Sylvain was so used to it at this point. When he turned around to look at them, he’d only wink to them in response before leaving once again to find some lonely girl to dance with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entering the crowd once again, one woman caught his eye unlike most. A woman sitting at the edge of the crowd at a table where there were a few other drinks, but no other people with them. He figured that they were all dancing or having fun while she stayed at the table. Her bright red hair was a stunning contrast against her tanned skin, the way she bobbed her head along to the music with a look that was so neutral and uncaring that it made him wonder why she was there. Was she upset or angry? Or was that just her typical attitude? He was intrigued and felt that he just had to know more about her. As he made his way over, he took a sip of his drink for just a little more of a confidence boost, and she noticed him right away. Her red eyes met his and for a moment it was as if she was analysing his entire personality. A look he was no stranger to. Pulling up a chair, he brushed his messy hair out of his eyes, grinning over to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great party, huh? Though, I can’t help but notice the dance floor is looking a bit empty without someone as attractive as yourself out there.” He went in with an opening line, expecting her to be either one of two things; To be completely flattered, which was pretty unlikely considering her demeanor, or to get annoyed. Instead, she only looked over for a moment and shrugged before going back to being in her own little world. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He was expecting… More of a response, so he figured he might as well try again, but before he could throw out another line, she held up her hand and finished her drink and he had no choice but to shut up and let her respond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t wanna be seen with me, get lost.” She told him, not even bothering to look over to him. Hearing her be so mysterious and ominous only made him laugh and lean against the table. Already, she amused him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll bite. You probably don’t want to be seen with me either, yet here we are. Do you happen to have a boyfriend that will knock me out chatting up such a beauty?” He flirted as he brushed his messy bangs out of his eyes, the song changing to something not as loud as the previous one, and she finally made eye contact with him. Such intensity, he was almost unprepared for it. “Sylvain Jose Gautier, and can I get the angel’s name?” He held out a hand to her and she rolled her eyes, clearly not a fan of the cheesy and cheap compliments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hapi.” She gave in, shaking his hand for a second before she left her hand in his, wondering if he was going to be the one to pull away. “And not a fan of angels, try again.” When she said that to him, his grin only widened a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt as if he had already broken through her shell. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Too easy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he figured. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In that case, I wouldn’t mind you being my devil for the night as long as you wouldn’t bite too hard.” He winked at her, and she was completely unfazed by his response and then shrugged, looking at her empty cup. His eyes followed hers and then he got where she was going with it. “Can I get you a drink?” He offered and she nodded, getting up from her spot. Hapi looked out the crowd and she seemed to get someone’s attention and nodded over to the bar then faced him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I also want nachos, is that cool?” She asked, and Sylvain simply grinned down to her, nodding a bit before they headed over to the bar, rather she left first and he went to follow her. She walked around as if she owned the place, slipping through the crowd and ignoring the people who were doing their best to get her attention. Before he could even get to the bar, she was already ordering for herself. She had some nerve, he figured. When he moved beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, she didn’t push him away or anything, instead kept standing there completely unfazed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally she had gotten her drink and plate of nachos that was way too large for one person, or so he thought. He handed his card to the bartender with a nod, and Hapi took a sip of her drink, seeming as if she was enjoying it with the little umbrella. As soon as he got his card back, she stretched out her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind carrying the nachos back to my table?” Hapi asked, looking up to him as she took another sip of her drink from her straw, and he nodded, grabbing the food before once again she took off without him. Now she was getting frustrating, Sylvain thought to himself. He was almost willing to give up and move onto the next girl, but something about her told him to stick around. Once he followed her to her table, he dropped the nachos off and was just about to start walking away, not willing to waste his time any further, but she seemed rather confused when he didn’t sit down with her. “What? You’re not gonna sit down?” It sounded like a simple question, but something told him that she wasn’t done talking to him quite yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a seat across from her and they spent the next while talking, surprisingly enough. She was… Different, Sylvain noticed. And not the “I’m quirky and not like all the other girls” kind of different, Hapi was… Strange. Not once did she return his cheap compliments and he was nearly convinced she had forgotten his name at some point, but she treated him as if he was really just another face in the crowd. She didn’t care who he was, and the only hint that she was willing to take advantage of his wealth was for nachos. Was it odd that he found it a bit refreshing? Every other woman he had talked to that night knew him as the model/future CEO, but Hapi saw him as the dude who bought her food and a drink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean you’ve never heard of me before?” Sylvain asked and Hapi shook her head, giving him an odd look. The furrow of her brow told him everything he needed to know about what he just said to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s pretty vain, isn’t it? I’m gonna assume you’re no different than most of these prissy losers then.” Hapi asked, sipping her drink once again before taking a chip into her mouth. He paused for a second before laughing, baffled by the way she talked to him. Usually no one was ever so brave to punch him down like this, and maybe if he was sober he would have been offended. He wanted to defend himself, but part of him knew that her opinion of him wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>low. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, there’s something about your attitude that attracts me to you. Maybe you should come back to my place tonight and we can… Talk.” His eyes scanned her up and down by habit, biting his lip after he said it in an attempt to get her to agree. Honestly, Sylvain ran on auto pilot as he asked this girl that he was mildly curious about going back to his room, and to his surprise, Hapi shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something tells me that wouldn’t be a good idea, dude. You gotta get some shit figured out before inviting a stranger like me to your place.” It was so brutally honest and a straightforward rejection that he was almost hurt that she was able to look right through him. “I’m not looking for baggage, but maybe when you’ve cleaned up a bit.” She added in, and the selective hearing in Sylvain kicked in and he had the cheekiest grin when he once again looked into her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re considering it, right?” He joked and Hapi, the woman of many surprises, cracked a small grin and rolled her eyes, motioning for his hand. Not sure what she was doing, he cautiously moved his hand and she rolled up his sleeve and began writing something on his arm. He watched her write and once she let go, he was able to see it was a phone number along with her name. When he looked at her, she set down her cup and got out of her seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you around, Ginger.” The faintest of grins played on her lips as well as a wink before she disappeared into the crowd to join a small group of people, leaving him stunned at the table. For the duration of the night, no matter who he talked to or how many people fell at his feet, she was the only one he repeatedly kept thinking about. Even after he brought another faceless woman back to her apartment for the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hapi hated socializing, she hated talking to people who didn’t interest her. And let me tell you that list was a very long one. She wasn’t even sure why she was at the party last night, but Didi asked her to go, and Yuribird told her that someone was looking to rent out their bar for the party, so one thing led to another and she was alone at her table while everyone else was busy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the Casanova came over to try and woo her, and Hapi knew exactly what to say to him to get a free drink and food. It wasn’t as if it was her first rodeo in situations like that, but he seemed to stick around, even after she was deliberately being difficult. Though when he was going to turn away and leave, she asked if he was going to stick around. That was unnatural for her and she wasn’t sure what inclined her to do so, and yet there she was laying on the garbage couch that Balthus insisted on having, thinking about the slightly drunk ginger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had lied to him that night though, of course she knew who he was. She may have been homeless up until nearly five years ago and not involved with any media of sorts, but she wasn’t completely stupid, especially not when she and Didi would talk. It wasn’t often, but he was basically her brother and he talked excessively about his childhood friends when they weren’t around. Though when he talked about Sylvain, she recalled him warning her about him, talking about the exact kind of person he was. Honestly, that was the first sign that Didi didn’t know her all too well, because she was more than prepared to handle someone like that. That’s the one thing Hapi had on her side, she never pretended to think higher of anyone than they were, and when she thought of Ginger, all she could see was some man who only knew how to break hearts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hard to break what you don’t have, she figured. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though meeting him was a complete accident, she fully intended on celebrating Dimitri’s birthday for maybe an hour before ditching to her favorite pizza place, but then he came around. It wasn’t as if things changed, but when he talked to her, he wasn’t the animal she expected. Did he actively pursue her and have unrealistic expectations about how she would be about him? Absolutely, but some part of her wanted to see just how far he would be willing to go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hapi laid on the couch in the living room of the shared living space between her and her three closest friends, and she hadn’t even noticed the large man with his bowl of cereal, waiting for her to move her legs. Ever the classy man, he was simply wearing a pair of ragged boxers with too many holes and nothing else, standing with his fruity cereal she was almost certain was banned in a few countries for being too unhealthy. When she looked up to Balthus, she rolled her eyes and sat up, bothered that she had to move at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When do you plan on wearing pants in the morning?” She asked and Balthus sat down beside her, laughing as if she had just told him her funniest joke, but Hapi wasn’t smiling, instead her expression was pretty sour when she had to readjust how she was sitting to get comfortable again.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When these legs don’t need to breathe after being trapped in one spot for the entire night. I sleep like-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-Like a rock, I know, B.” Hapi finished his sentence and that only made Balthus laugh harder, taking the remote from the table and turning on the television for his morning cartoons. She could feel the familiar headache slowly bloom and she got up, deciding to go searching for the medicine and some water. As if on cue, Constance entered the kitchen with a large grin, but holding out a water bottle and the magic pills that would take the edge off of her head pain. With a mumbled thanks, Hapi took them and quickly downed the pills and water, letting out a sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would appear that you’ve enjoyed yourself more than you initially thought, am I correct? We all witnessed you talking to someone for more than five minutes, which led to Balthus losing a bet.” Constance’s voice was loud and teasing, causing Hapi to wince slightly before she shook her head. Honestly, she barely remembered talking to Ginger, let alone getting home. She quite possibly drank more after leaving him behind, but she wasn’t sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After reviewing what texts she had sent that night while slightly drunk with some laughing, some poking fun at the redhead, she was finally allowed to go sit at their dining table and relax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though it was fairly early in the morning, Constance was dressed to the nines, like she always was. Her and Yuribird had that in common, where as soon as they got up, they had their makeup perfected, outfits planned, and ready for the day. Though she would often hear them bicker about taking up the bathroom for too long, it was still impressive for them to be so proactive about taking on the day. While Constance and Yuri were perfectly pampered at all times, her and Balthus were more like gremlins, willing to go out in public in their pyjamas without a single care in the world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The four of them rented this dingy three bedroom apartment, and Hapi was the first to accept the fate of having the couch, though her and Coco would be more than willing to swap out at the other’s convenience. Since Yuri’s name was the one on the lease, he was granted his own bedroom, and since Balthus was technically the “breadwinner” with running their bar and being security, the least they could do was let him have the biggest room, leaving the girls to share and alternate. For as prissy as Constance was, she was more than alright with this arrangement as long as there was a roof over her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their morning routines were all taken care of, Hapi finally brought it to her to leave for a walk, deciding that she needed to explore the city a little more on her own, also to clear her mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as the sun began to shine in the morning, Sylvain found himself awake as soon as a sunbeam hit his eyes. It was early, he figured, but part of him was too hungover to check the clock, or to really care that he wasn’t in his own apartment. Sitting up, he could feel someone try and pull him back closer to them, but Sylvain only kept pulling away until he was out of the bed. He quickly got himself dressed, double checking that the woman in his bed was still asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he reached for his phone, he could already see that his messages were blowing up, countless texts and missed calls from his friends wondering where he was, or who he was with, but clearly drunk Sylvain was in no mood to answer them. Truthfully, sober Sylvain wasn’t in the mood to talk to them either, knowing all too well that they were only going to scold him, especially Ingrid. He loved her, but she tended to get on his case far too much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When found in these sort of situations, Sylvain had a routine. Get dressed, get his belongings, leave something behind, write a note explaining why he left, and then get the hell out of there. That way, there were no messy goodbyes, no crying, and if they were angry, the only thing they would do was text him, then he would simply block their number. There was a sequence to these things that he’s perfected over a long period of time, and it was nearly foolproof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Half dressed, unapologetic and practically glowing, Sylvain left her apartment and left back into the street. His shirt wasn’t buttoned the entire way, he was pretty sure he was missing a sock, and truly he must have looked like a mess, however that was something to fix once he got back to his own place where he could hate himself over this later, but the first thing he wanted to do was get a coffee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah yes, the cure for all self hatred was a cup of bean water that gave people energy. Deep down he knew it wasn’t, but he liked to pretend it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he was about to call for a cab, he noticed the marking on his arm, and was reminded of the woman he had met the night before. Remembering how odd she was, and wondering just who she was, he decided for shits and giggles to give her a call. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dialing in her number, which was admittedly a lot harder than he thought since some of the numbers had gotten smudged from the night before, he held his phone to his ear as he walked, looking for any coffee place that would be close by. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain didn’t expect her to answer, yet when he heard the dial tone stop, then suddenly a voice from the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, hello?” He could hear Hapi’s voice from the other side of his phone, and part of him was relieved he had managed to get it right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s me, the guy from last night.” Sylvain told her over the phone, continuing his walk as he began to enter the downtown area, wondering just where he was in the city. It was unfamiliar, so it had given him an excuse to wander around and talk with her, if she was even willing to entertain the idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Ginger, right?” She said, and he could tell she was a bit out of breath. The sound of cars honking followed, as well as some yelling. Both from whoever was in the background and from Hapi before she went back to her phone call. “I kind of didn’t expect you to call, like, at all. I forgot I even gave you my number.” Once again with her honesty, Sylvain was going to find himself used to it if they kept up their talking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s me. I didn’t expect to be calling either, I usually have a few rules about how soon I call back beautiful women, but for you I was willing to go against my code.” As he fed her cheesy lines, he grinned to himself, finding their conversation fun already. Talking with her was refreshing, especially this early in the morning. Was it early? The sun was a little too high to be anything sooner than noon, but he was too distracted to really care. Talking to her was worth avoiding most of his responsibilities, at least in his mind it was justified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not much was said after that, not until Sylvain asked her to meet him for coffee. He could hear the hesitation in her voice as she was going to turn him down, but when he mentioned that she could order whatever she wanted, her tune seemed to change. Was she really so easy to please? And was he making a promise that he possibly shouldn’t have, judging by how easily she took his money for food and drinks. They decided to meet at a coffee shop that was fairly well known and relatively close to his own apartment so he could head home right after. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was quite honestly no reason for him not to go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After calling a cab and getting to the coffee shop, he entered to have a large amount of eyes on him, and he could easily hear what people were saying the minute he walked into the shop. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s him!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Didn’t you go out with him last month?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He never did call back…” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It would appear he’s made quite the reputation for himself, even here, but it stopped being important when he noticed the redhead in the back of the shop, leaning on her hand as she stared out the window. Her expression was bored, her eyes uncaring and the slight frown on her lips, it was flattering in the most unconventional way. Seeing her in her natural element told him everything he needed to know about her, and that only made him drawn to her more. The more he looked at her, the more Sylvain knew that he couldn’t see himself dating her, she was too strange for his taste. Too unpredictable that he wasn’t sure what he could do to pretend to be the person she was interested in, yet he found himself going closer and closer to her table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain made his way over to her and sat down across from her, grinning to her. Instead of smiling and waving to him, her eyes glanced over to him and gave a slight nod in greeting before she looked out the window again. Was she doing it on purpose, or was this just who she was. Playing hard to get, or unintentionally irritating? For some reason, he wanted to know the answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some brief conversation stirred up, naturally Sylvain was the one to initiate, and shortly after Hapi sent Sylvain to go get his own drink, along with an absurd amount of pastries. He wondered if she was just testing if he meant what he was saying to her, and instead took it as a challenge, one that he intended on winning. The wait wasn’t very long either, his coffee was made to perfection, and he was glad to return to his table with a plate that was fully loaded with every pastry in the display case. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Funny enough, the first time he’d seen her grin while sober was when he brought over food as a bribe for her time. When it was put like that, it was almost sad, but he found it funny nonetheless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why exactly did you call me here? I told you that you gotta work through your problems.” Hapi wasted no time, though it was hard to take her seriously as she stuffed an entire dessert in her mouth. He grabbed her a napkin, and she took it, though it was clear that she was waiting for an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>“you’re different” </span>
  </em>
  <span>leave your mouth, I’m going to throw up.” Hapi cut him off, once again proving that she was incredibly diff- unlike anyone in his life. With a dramatic gasp, he pretended as if those were not the words about to leave his mouth and he could see that Hapi wasn’t buying it. “You only think that way because I didn’t sleep with you on the first night we met. I told you the truth, now you’ve diluted yourself into talking to me. If being different means being a human being who isn’t the most superficial and shallow, then that’s stupid.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I love it when you talk to me like that.” Sylvain winked to her, attempting to get a reaction out of her, but even then, there was nothing. Just an eye roll and another pastry downed. ‘All flirting aside, that’s exactly why I’m drawn to you. You don’t put up with my shit and I guess I like that about you. That and those beautiful red eyes of-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginger.” Her tone was more of a warning, a warning that her patience was being tested and for him to get on with what he was going to sell her on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, what I mean to say is that I could benefit from having someone like you around. Not many people are willing to insult me to my face like that. Especially when I deserve it. I think we could be worthwhile friends.” Sylvain admitted, laying his cards out on the table for her, wondering just how she was going to take it. Hapi finally paid her full attention to him, leaning back into her chair. The gears were turning and he could see the thoughts forming in her mind, and how desperately he wanted to know what she was thinking. She was at least thinking his proposition over, and when she relaxed her shoulders, that’s when he knew he had her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what are you looking for?” Hapi’s question was simple, and Sylvain grinned ear to ear, knowing he had her hooked on the line he didn’t know he was casting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A friend, of sorts. Listen, I like you, I really do think you’re an interesting woman, but I hate what comes with dating people, and judging by what I know about you so far, I can tell you don’t care for it either. The standards, the expectations, I’m tired of it. I want something different and I know you’re curious about it too.” Sylvain laid his offer out, and immediately it earned a scoff and she even threatened to get up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to be your friend with benefits, Ginger. It’s almost enough to make me want to punch you to hear you offer it. Did you really think that was going to work? I’m not just some-” It was brief, but he could see the irritation forming in her eyes, but he knew that this was something that could work out for the both of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-How about we get rid of the benefits then?” Sylvain almost panicked when he knew he was losing her on it, so he needed to think quickly. “How about this; we get rid of all labels, and then we be that? We can go out on dates, but don’t have any expectations. Dinner? Sure thing. Movies? As long as it’s interesting. I just wonder if it’s really possible for two people to be in close proximity without labelling anything to continue to be interested, without the bullshit.” Sylvain put his hands up, and Hapi relaxed back into her seat, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him. “I know you’re at least a little interested in me, so what do you say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m listening.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hapi and Sylvain talk out this deal that Sylvain is asking about, and Hapi weighs the pros and cons.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter (and future chapters) was beta read by my amazing friend Beat (@16_beat_Rhythm on Twitter!) and he's just absolutely amazing for taking his time out of their day to do this for me! Thank you so much ;w;;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m listening.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sylvain nearly tipped over when she was actually willing to hear him out about this dumb little experiment of his. He hadn’t even thought this far ahead, the odd desperation for her to at least listen to his proposition had taken over, and there wasn’t anything else he could add to get her to say yes. Fame? He figured someone like her didn’t care about something like that, not to mention there wasn’t much he could do for her anyways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Hapi’s turn to watch the gears turn in his head and she was rather amused watching the put together mess of a man unfold when she mentioned she was willing to listen to him. As if she could see right through him in this exact moment, he seemed to be trying to figure out what to say next and picking his words carefully. In fact, she only said so because she wasn’t sure what he could possibly offer her to get her to be his “play date” of sorts. Hapi was prepared to have him laugh in her face when she told him she wasn’t going to be friends with benefits, and to offer no “benefits”? What could possibly make him so desperate?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s my friends, we all have an ongoing bet that I can’t have an on-lasting relationship and it’s kind of stung and they’re winning. I’m used to them making fun of me and making jokes at my expense, but they’ve even gone too far with this stupid bet that it’s affecting jobs and my public image,” Sylvain admitted, and Hapi leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed as she listened. Actually, she swore she could have heard someone talk about that before, and now she found herself actually involved in his sort of plans. “So I just want you to pretend that we’re exclusive for a small while until I can get them off my back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he looked at her, he was giving her a pleading look, though it was hard to take him seriously when he had only proved them right the night before. His story was stupid, and she was about to decline before he continued, seeing the change of expression on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I offer you to get you to say yes?” he asked, taking out his wallet as if he was willing to give her cash then and there. Hapi’s eyes widened at the bulk of money. Definitely more cash than one person could possibly need, his wallet couldn’t even close properly. She allowed herself to be starstruck for a second before letting out a laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you offering to pay me to be your ‘girlfriend’? Ginger, that’s so sad.” Her laugh was genuine as she held her stomach, the entire coffee shop looked over to see the woman laughing at this poor guy. He watched her laugh a little too hard at his proposition, but he didn’t seem to mind all too much. For as much as this offer was phony rather ridiculous, he did appreciate how pretty she was with an actual smile on her face. As Hapi laughed, she thought back to the others, and she recalled how there were quite a few nights when no one would eat when all of their money would go to bills, the bar, and Yuribird often used his money for people in need, leaving him dry by the end of the week. For as tight-knit as they all were, they were struggling, even if the other three were too stubborn to admit it. Was her pride really so important to keep her from helping them out?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not desperate you know, but this offer is only open to you,” Sylvain told her as he leaned back into his seat. Then there it was, the classic smirk unfurled on his lips, although unbeknownst to Hapi, he was genuinely enjoying himself.. Hearing him say that only made her fall into another laughing fit, making him pout as he wasn’t intending on being funny. “Hey-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why me? You could have asked any woman to do this, I have a few better suited people for the job if you’re looking to hire someone?” It was a good question, to say the least. Why did she call out to him? There were millions of girls to ask, but to her surprise; he had an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t bullshit me when we met.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was such a cheesy and predictable line, however he was dead serious as he looked her in the eyes as he answered. She had no choice but to listen. “You didn’t fall for any of the phony lines I fed you, and no matter how many tricks I pulled, you weren’t interested enough to let me bring you home, but interested enough to be sitting here with me right now. Even if you agree, I don’t want you to bullshit me, just…” Sylvain tried to figure out a way to word it, knowing what he wanted to say, just not how. “Just play along a tiny bit. Enough to convince them, but enough to keep me in line. I like that about you.” His eyes sparkled as he spoke, and Hapi only wondered just how spoiled this guy really was if he was looking for someone to play babysitter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s talk about rules then.” Hapi told him, seemingly coming to terms with his reasoning. She knew most of it was absolute flowery nonsense, but he had a few good points. He was also quite persuasive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those words made him perk up and he grinned like a child receiving news that they were going to a world famous theme park. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does this mean you’re saying yes?” Sylvain asked as he rested her elbow on the table, resting his chin on his fist as he looked at her, only to be flicked on the forehead, letting out a soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>“ow” </span>
  </em>
  <span>when she did so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m saying that we should establish ground rules before I turn down your stupid proposal,” Hapi clarified, and then the two of them began talking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two full hours passed the two of them by as they talked, and Sylvain bought them coffee to keep each other completely alert when they were talking, wanting to make sure that the two of them knew exactly what they were talking about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hapi’s rules were quite simple. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>- Trust and respect are an absolute must. She has nothing invested in him or what he does, however if he was going to do something stupid like take a girl home from the bar, he was going to need to let her know, just out of respect for her. Sylvain wasn’t sure why that was so important, but nonetheless he agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- She will not tolerate verbal abuse from any of his “girlfriends” that he chooses to see while they’re “dating”. If she hears anyone talk shit, she will not hesitate to call things off if he doesn’t step in for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- When she asked Sylvain about her “allowance”, he offered her fifty dollars a week. Hapi nearly spit out her coffee at the price he was willing to pay her for this supposedly simple task. A hundred dollars every two weeks? That was far more than she was willing to ask for, so she gladly accepted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- And finally for Hapi, the dreaded one that Sylvain hated. No benefits. She refused to be a girlfriend for hire, especially now that he was actually paying her. She wasn’t interested in sleeping with him for cash, so she established that out the gate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sylvain’s were on par with what she expected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>- No jealousy or judging. The fact that was his first rule made Hapi roll her eyes and almost gag at how dumb that sounded. He argued that it was better to have that out there as well, just in case. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- The “L” word was banned, and no, that word was not Lesbian. Hapi found it incredibly confusing why the word “love” was too far out of his dictionary when they would be acting, but she simply agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- It was both decided that the amount was not to be changed, which was self explanatory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>- Touch was allowed. Hapi nearly flicked him again for that rule, though he clarified it as hand holding, arms wrapped around the others, or the occasional kiss, if she was alright with it. Hapi added that kissing on the cheek was allowed, however kissing on the lips was a grey area. They settled on if it was a dire situation, they would allow it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>- And for the most obvious one, neither of them were to tell anyone that it was fake, except those closest to them if they so choose. That was his way of telling her that she was allowed to tell whoever she was friends with as long as they wouldn’t jeopardize their operation. That made Hapi a small amount more relieved that she was going to be able to tell her family, though she was sure to get mixed reactions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After getting everything out of the way, they finally decided on when they would “get together” publicly. Hapi didn’t seem to have a preference, but Sylvain was planning on making it quite theatrical. He wanted his friends to know that Hapi was going to be the one to help him win this bet, and he was certain that she was going to help him. He was putting his trust in her, and what was fifty dollars out of his pocket?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Ginger, you never did tell me.” Hapi sipped her coffee, making Sylvain listen to her with his full attention, doing his best to not already get distracted. “What exactly happens when you win this bet and how long am I gonna have to date you?” she asked, and he pulled out his phone, pulling up the messages in the official group chat he and his friends had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hapi was decently impressed by who was in it. Felix Fraudalrius, a famous athlete and his father was a business partner of Sylvain’s father. Ingrid Galatea, a famous food critic, as well as a part-time model at her father’s request. Then she noticed Dimitri was in the chat, but he hadn’t talked very much it would seem. All pretty famous people, but they had always been together from what she had seen. From what the media told about the four, they were childhood friends, all of their parents rather close and they each had their own connections to the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain and Ingrid often modeled together, Hapi remembered seeing that Ingrid and Yuri had also modeled together when her official modelling partner cancelled last minute. Felix and Sylvain were going to take over their parents’ positions at their companies so they worked closely while Dimitri was going to be the next president of the company. It surprised Hapi to know so much, but she did keep in contact with Dimitri every now and then since they were friends through their teens.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Felix started it, with an off handed claim that I couldn’t be with one woman for more than a month. And he was absolutely correct, I would not be able to nor would I want to. Life is too short to be tied down,” Sylvain said, motioning her to read through the messages. Then he let out a long, drawn out sigh. “But then they started talking about it in interviews, to their coworkers, and then eventually I became the butt of every joke, so in retaliation when I was incredibly drunk, I bet them I would be able to date one woman for three months, three times longer than the initial claim. As long as I was continuing to lose, I would be the butt of every joke they wanted without complaining, but if I were to miraculously win, the comments would stop and they would all get to participate in one modelling shoot of my choice. I’ve already begun concocting the perfect shoot, I just need to beat them at it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mention of the length of the bet made Hapi make a face, figuring that three months was an incredibly long time, especially since they had just been strangers. How did he manage to rope her in this? Then he took out a crisp hundred dollar bill and put it on the table for her and winked at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this for?” Hapi asked, taking the bill regardless to inspect it, causing him to laugh. To Hapi’s surprise, it was a real bill. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain was thrown off by her instinct to check if it was genuine. She constantly seemed to surprise him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s call it our deposit, that way I can trust you to not back out of this last minute. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to know that we’ll be partners through this.” His answer seemed generous enough, but Hapi only stuffed the bill into her pocket with a shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, you just love throwing your money around, don’t you? I wonder what it’s like, rich boy,” Hapi said, mostly to herself, but this time it was his turn to let out a laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re really something, how have I never met you before?” he asked, only for Hapi to shrug. They sat together for a few more minutes before both of their phones went off, hinting that they both had to get back to their lives. Officially, they added each other into their phones before they split off into their own separate ways, promising to make a date for their relationship to officially begin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was kind enough to even buy her a bag of pastries to take home for the road as an additional thanks for going through with this stupid idea, and she took it, along with a tray of coffee to bring home to everyone else. It was going to be wild to explain to everyone what was going to be going on with her, but she knew that they would be on board with it. It was what they did. They used every advantage life was giving them to move ahead since they had all been burdened with natural disadvantages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she entered the door with snacks and drinks, everyone’s head turned and they all seemed to be wondering the same thing. How did she manage to afford four coffees and a bag of treats? Before they could lay into her too much, she quickly explained that it was a gift from a business partner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hapi, what are you talking about? Did you start another multi-level marketing company?” Constance asked. Hapi snickered to herself, remembering the time she managed to make thousands of dollars from adding food coloring to scented water and selling it as essential oils. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing of the sort, Coco, don't worry. This time it’s completely legal,” Hapi explained, setting the things down on the counter and everyone came over to listen to what she had to say. As she lifted herself to sit on the counter top, her legs kicked the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was interesting to explain her situation with everyone else, and they all seemed confused in their own ways. Constance didn’t like the fact that some man was taking advantage of their friend for some stupid bet, but Constance forgot that Hapi didn’t have feelings like that and completely consented to allowing herself to take part. Balthus felt icky about the being paid part. Before he could say the words, Hapi explained she wasn’t a prostitute for this rich kid, just getting paid to spend time with him is all. Yuri seemed to have a problem with the man himself, Sylvain, though Hapi figured that it was just his familial instincts kicking in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno about this, Haps…” Balthus said, leaning against the wall as he drank from his cup, and Hapi shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not asking for you guys to approve, but a little support wouldn’t kill you.” Hapi said, eating from the bag. “Besides, I already told him I wasn’t gonna bang him, so there’s no worry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hapi!” Constance gasped and her cheeks went red at her crass language, causing Hapi to laugh at her response. “Well, I’m rather glad you established… That early on. I would never forgive such an animal if he dared lay a single finger-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would just be hand holding and hugging. Again, he’s just looking for someone to fool the public. Three months isn’t a long time guys.” Hapi wasn’t quite sure why she was trying so hard to get their approval over this, but if she was going to be doing this, she needed them to be in her corner. She was doing this for them, she reminded herself. As they spoke, Yuri seemed to get an idea. With an overly dramatic sigh, he got Hapi’s attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want us to be with you through this, then you need to get him to get us all in on it. I'm talking invitations to the parties he is at, tickets to premieres, hell, even inviting us to dinner if he’s taking you out. You know what we said when we started living together.” Yuri’s tone was serious, and Hapi was pretty unfazed by everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she mentioned, they were all unfortunate to have their entire lives at a disadvantage. They all had shitty lives in their own ways, and now they were older and finally got to reclaim their futures. But it wasn’t without everyone else. They wouldn’t be where they were without the others, so they were an all or nothing package deal. Yuri decided all those years ago that if anyone was in on something potentially dangerous that they would get everyone involved. Whether it was shifty mlm schemes or douchey proposals, if Yuri had a gut feeling that he didn’t like, everyone would have to be on board. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll talk to him, and if he says no then I’ll tell him it’s a done deal,” Hapi said simply, and it was as if the three of them relaxed a small amount, more okay knowing that they were going to be there for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It only reinforced to Hapi that they were a family, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arrange for us all to meet him, that way we can all air out our concerns to him.” Constance suggested, and Balthus grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have him take us out for a nice dinner!” Balthus added, then Constance and him went back and forth. Hapi grinned slightly to herself, and when her eyes met Yuri’s he only moved over to her and ruffled her hair, causing her to whine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re a pack, you don’t have to do anything alone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sylvain made it back to his apartment with little to no hitch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His apartment was quite nice, something you’d see out of an interior design magazine. That was his mother’s doing, claiming that nothing was “too good” for her favorite son. Yes, despite him having an older brother, his parents were quite blatant with their favoritism. That reminded him, he wondered what poorly worded death threat he could expect from Miklan this week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Usually when he came home by himself, he was free to allow his extroverted side to take a step aside and allow his social battery to recharge by ignoring his phone and watching nothing but television for the next thirteen hours, but today was different. It was hard to place, but after forming a deal with Hapi, he wasn’t as tired or in a foul mood as he usually was. It was an odd feeling to come home to, but he allowed himself to enjoy it nonetheless. Once inside, he checked his phone to find that Ingrid and Felix were texting him, but he didn’t have it in him to open the messages. Social media was uninteresting, countless unopened notifications and even more unopened private messages from “adoring” fans. Deciding that he needed a break from his device, he took a shower to clean up, and finally got changed into a new change of clothes, out of the outfit he had worn the day before. Most of it that is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the first hour he was home, he settled on ordering some junk for dinner, knowing that he was going to be scolded if Ingrid saw the filth he was feeding himself, but didn’t have it in him to make something. It didn’t take very long for it to be delivered, and just when he was about to sit down and eat, his phone started buzzing. Part of him wanted to just ignore it and enjoy his late lunch in solitude, but something told him he should get it. He set his food down before going over to the cell phone, seeing Hapi’s contact anime made his heart skip a beat, and he answered quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Haps,” Sylvain answered, hearing her scoff on her side of the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ginger, it turns out I’ve got some extra, er… Rules for our arrangement,” she said, and Sylvain rose an eyebrow, not quite sure what she meant. “If I’m gonna do this, I gotta have my friends in on it. They want to meet up and talk about their part in everything. It’s a must if you want me to do this, or you’re gonna have to find someone else, ‘kay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was odd of her to be so demanding, but who was he to turn it down? He’d have to see what their “demands” would end up being, but he really wanted Hapi in on this place. She was the only one who could help him pull this off after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, sure-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does dinner tomorrow night sound good? Your treat, if you’re wanting me on board,” Hapi told him in her usual neutral tone, and Sylvain could only laugh at her bossing him around. Was she always going to treat him like this? If so, he’ll need to get used to it fast if he wants her help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’ll call a friend of mine who owns a restaurant downtown, he can get us a good table so we can talk about the new rules you want to implement.” Sylvain sighed, and he could hear some additional voices in the back, whispering among themselves before Hapi piped up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good, Ginger. Catch you tomorrow.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could chime in again and wish her a good day, she hung up abruptly and left him hanging. All he could do was first roll his eyes, annoyed at her attitude, but then laugh to himself at how bizarre she treated him. It was really something he couldn’t pass up.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylvain meet Hapi's family, and they negotiate their terms.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, in my other fic (Its called a String of Inconveniences and if you're a fan of YuriCoco like I am, please give it a read ;w;) I mentioned that after I last updated, I would take a week off of all writing in general, so it ended up a bit longer for this fic, but I realized I was more restless not writing than I was dealing with stress and writing. </p><p>@soft_and_happy on twitter is an actual saint, they've kept me sane through all of my issues and I can't thank them enough for everything they do for me, including them being my beta reader &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>That exact evening, Hapi and the other Ashen Wolves found themselves standing in front of one of the nicest restaurants in town all wearing their nicest clothes so they would manage to fit in with the high profile guests. It was used as an excuse to also dress up and have fun with this occasion, and hopefully they would seal the deal with Sylvain and get more invitations out like this. Dressed to the nines, they entered the building, and Hapi immediately noticed the looks they were getting from those around them, the people who were waiting for a chance to get a table at this very exclusive restaurant, and for a brief moment, her motivation wavered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was funny, she had been so confident in her decision to go through with this. But when she noticed the immediate disgust in the eyes of the rich and famous around them, she began to wonder what the point of this all was. For just a stupid bet, she wasn’t willing to be made fun of by people she didn’t know. Hapi had half a mind to turn around and kick these stupid heels off her feet, but suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Balthus smiling down at her, a smile that only reassured her that as long as she was with them, she was okay with anything she as going to go through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hapi looked absolutely stunning that night, wearing a very fitting emerald green cocktail dress that perfectly contrasted against her fiery red hair. Her makeup was done by Yuri who wanted to make her as beautiful as she could be, and for as indifferent as she could be, Hapi was genuinely impressed with how pretty he made her look. She supposed even she was able to be considered beautiful for a night. As they waited, Hapi was once again considering walking out when she got tired of waiting for Sylvain to show. How did he expect her to be waiting for him, especially when she was threatening to call everything off on a whim? Did he not understand she was being serious about it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though as she was silently seething at him, suddenly she could hear someone call out to them from behind them, and there was Sylvain, also quite dressed up quite nicely. Though the lighting itself was quite dim, it was hard to miss the radiant smile he had when he saw her. Maybe he did clean up nicely, Hapi thought to herself. He was smiling as he walked up to them, and from behind his back he pulled out a bouquet of flowers, a dozen red roses to be exact. He went to Hapi and held them out for her, grinning to her as she raised an eyebrow, cautiously taking them from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for being late, it was a hassle to find a dozen roses this late at night.” Sylvain explained himself, and he made it a point to address each of the Ashen Wolves and greet them with a handshake, though Hapi didn’t miss the wink to Constance, which earned a scoff from the blonde and a quick pull of her hand away from him. Hapi simply stood there dumbstruck, wondering what the big deal was, but then she realized that he may have been more desperate for her cooperation than she originally thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Introductions between them were short, but she did notice the subtle detail that the other three of them moved a bit closer to her, as if they were ready to protect her. As much as they were overprotective and dramatic, Hapi appreciated the act nonetheless, even if Sylvain didn’t seem to notice it. Sylvain and Yuri then went up to the hostess to get them a table, and as soon as they went to figure out seating arrangements, Hapi felt her arms be linked with the other two’s. And she confusedly looked at them to see they both had the same, tight lipped grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys don’t like him, I take it?” Hapi asked, and Constance looked over to Sylvain and Yuri to gauge their distance from them, and then let out a deep, dramatic sigh as she shook her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in the slightest. A shameless flirt who seems to ignore every other person that isn’t him? I say you dump him.” Constance offered her harsh criticism, and Hapi laughed softly, pulling away from the other two. Her pulling away made Constance pout and before Balthus could give his stance, the two men returned along with a waitress, who was giving nervous glances over to them before looking at the other three with a grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our friend here has managed to get us an amazing table, let’s get going.” Yuri smiled as he motioned for Balthus and Constance to walk alongside him. His satisfied face made Hapi smirk; he said that it was Sylvain who helped get a good table, but it was probably Yuri’s charms that really sealed the deal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they walked, Sylvain wrapped his arm around Hapi’s shoulders and grinned down to her as they followed the others’ lead through the restaurant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look…” He trailed off, and it earned a curious look from Hapi, her eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered just what was running through his mind when he looked at her. With a small gulp and grin, she only shook his head slightly. “You clean up nicely,” he told her, and Hapi let out a small laugh as she gently punched him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch Ginger, are you saying that I didn’t look great before?” Her tone was teasing, and part of her wondered how he intended on worming his way out of it, but he only seemed to laugh alongside her. “It’s funny though, I was thinking the same about you.” It seemed like an offhand comment, but Sylvain seemed to take it eagerly with a smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I think you’d look better-” he started, only to be interrupted by Yuri’s impatient voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here we are.” His voice cut through Sylvain’s and she thought nothing of it, taking a seat and quickly Sylvain took a spot beside her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like a job interview, Sylvain noticed immediately. When Hapi’s friends all sat across from them, he could immediately feel the tension in the air, the tight lipped grins and the glares they were shooting at him almost made him want to crawl out of his skin. Though when he looked to see if Hapi was experiencing this same kind of dread, he found her nose in the menu, commenting out loud about the prices and how amazing everything sounded. Clearly she didn’t seem to notice how they were looking at him. So much for getting her to back him up on this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A waitress stopped by their table, and took their drink orders. Hapi ordered a soda, Constance and Sylvain ordered water, Balthus asked for a pint of beer, and Yuri ordered quite an expensive glass of wine. It didn’t take much to notice that Yuri was willing to push buttons to see how much he could get away with, and Sylvain knew that this deal depended on him playing along with whatever they wanted. Perhaps if he treated this like any other business deal he would be able to pull this off. Confidence and charm, business as usual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, when he felt Hapi tugging at his sleeve and pointing out something on the menu, he was reminded that this wasn’t something as minor as a business deal. Maybe it was that he wanted to get to know Hapi, the same way he usually did with the women he chased after, but to think of her as a token to be bargained for wasn’t fair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When did he care about fair? Sylvain didn’t care about how he thought about women, they were usually just meant for his selfish needs anyways, so why was it when she looked up at him with her big red eyes that he was questioning his approach? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The waitress gave them their drinks and took their food orders as well, leaving them at their table to simply talk and hopefully begin to reach an understanding. They looked like a panel of judges, and if they voted him out, he’d be screwed out of an amazing opportunity. His hands began to sweat, but the woman beside him looked calm as a stone, nothing seemed to bother her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what are your intentions?” Yuri was the first to cut out all the fat, going straight to the hard questions. With elbows propped atop the table, he rested his chin on his hands and simply waited for an answer. His sharp eyes pierce through Sylvain’s, and the man felt as if he was the prey being analyzed by some exotic purple predator. Sylvain gulped, and he looked to Hapi for a way to word it, and even though all she gave was a nod, it seemed to serve as reassurance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t intend on anything more than what it is. Hapi will be my fake girlfriend to help me win a stupid bet among my friends and I, and I’ll be paying her for her help.” He leaned back in his chair, an arm resting over her shoulders. For someone who claimed to not like being touched, she seemed oddly fine with it, perhaps because it was from him. It was a shallow thought, but he seemed content with that as an answer. For a moment, lilac eyes glared into his orange ones, and then the other man seemed to relax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about our demands? You do understand she’s part of our family, right?” This time it was blondie’s turn to ask a question. When his eyes fell on her, she made sure to reinforce her perfect posture even while pridefully fanning herself. She seemed too prissy to be his type, but that didn’t stop him from being himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’d be glad to invite </span>
  <em>
    <span>you-</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Before he could finish the sentence, Hapi slapped his arm and glared holes through him. Her visible dissatisfaction reminded him to take this seriously, which led to him muttering an apology to her before finishing his thoughts. “What I mean is that if that’s what it takes to make sure that this goes through, I’ll see what I can do.” His answer was vague, and it was clear that they weren’t feeding into it. He needed to get them back onto his side. “And by that, I mean that any party I can get you in, and for special events I’ll get you all tickets. I just want this to work out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The desperation he was exuding seemed to win them over, judging by the way they relaxed slightly when he was nearly begging them to follow through with it. Balthus seemed to slump back in his chair slightly, Constance’s eye didn’t twitch when he spoke this time, and Yuri’s fists unclenched slightly. These small changes let him know that they were close to going through with this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hapi, are you completely sure that you’re fine with going out with this schmuck?” Balthus asked, completely disregarding how improper he looked in his seat. Sylvain wanted to argue about his needless question, but he held back when Hapi nonchalantly shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I don’t see why I wouldn’t. I pretend to date this guy, get paid, and get into really exclusive places with my friends, so I don’t see the downside.” The way she said it convinced them that maybe this really was no big deal, but it was hard to miss the way Constance’s eyes narrowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I find it odd that you’re willing to pretend to like this man.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did she really need to talk about him as if he wasn’t right across from her? It was almost insulting and he wanted to argue once again, but she continued to carry on. Everyone at this table seemed to act as if he was just a prop in the background. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’m not completely pretending. Ginger isn’t as bad as he seems, he’s…” The pause kept Sylvain at the edge of his seat, wondering what she would possibly say about him to justify going through with this. “He’s kind of fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fun wouldn’t be the word he expected, but he was going to take it. It earned a silly grin from him, and before he could be bombarded with many other questions, the waitress came by with their orders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dinner went over well after that point. Since tensions died down between everyone, Sylvain was finally able to talk with them and get an idea who Hapi spent her time with. He found them to be quite different than the people he was used to. Felix, Ingrid and Dimitri were so put together at all times, upper class citizens and predictable. But these people, he couldn’t get a clear read on any of them. The four of them were dysfunctional, messy, and flawed overall. Still despite that, Sylvain noticed that they had something that he lacked in his own group: All four of them had each other’s backs no matter what.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The parallels between the groups, and the differences were a shock to his system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unlike Dimitri, Yuri was laid back and charming, while Dimitri was rigid and unrelatable. While the purple haired man knew how to use all of his disadvantages to his advantages, Dimitri seemed to turn all of his advantages into his own disadvantages in an attempt to make connections with other people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Felix was calm, cool and collected, Balthus was obnoxious, distasteful and offensive in all definitions. Felix would never be caught dead doing any of the things Balthus was admitting to doing, and Balthus would rather escape any sort of fate that Felix had laid out for him. Felix was smaller in stature and slim, while Balthus was a large man who constantly made his presence known. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Constance and Ingrid admittedly had a lot of similarities, the fact they both were raised to be quite familiar with makeup and fashion, while also having a background in self defense, however it wasn’t hard to pick up on the subtle differences. Constance was more like a little sister who seemingly didn’t need to watch out for the other three, trusting them to make their own decisions, while Ingrid took on the role of a big sister, being the one to direct the others on what course of action they should take. </span>
  <span>And Hapi and Sylvain. They both had an interest in leisure and taking the easy road in life, but their differences are what made Sylvain so attracted to her. While he seemed to talk a lot of flowery and powdered words, he genuinely was looking forward to spending time with Hapi. Now, was it because he wanted to see if he could get her to break the rules and get himself into her bed to say he could? That was still unclear to him. Butas they sat next to each other, laughing along to something dumb the other said while eating, he recognized that he was genuinely having a good time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe being with this other group of friends made him realize what he was missing being with the others. Though at the same time, it made him appreciate his childhood friends all the more. The way that all of his friends were put together was something he took for granted apparently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the meal, Sylvain, like he promised, paid for the bill, despite how much the cost made him feel as if he had just sold an organ. The group stood outside the restaurant, still chatting together even as they prepared to go their own ways. Surprisingly to him, Hapi stayed by his side instead of moving over to the other three as they stayed outside, and already he was jumping to conclusions about what she wanted from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still have some talking I have to do with Ginger, so I’ll see you guys back at home?” The way she said it was so incredibly nonchalant and relaxed, and the other three seemed to be fine with it as well. Him on the other hand though was practically beaming, already thinking that he had broken through to her. As the other Wolves took their leave, talking amongst each other, Sylvain leaned against the wall, facing Hapi with a seemingly knowing smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you already change your mind on your rule?” Sylvain asked, and Hapi poked his chest with an eyeroll. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, no. I meant it, there’s some stuff I wanted to talk about with you over this.” Her voice was silky and nearly hypnotizing, he was almost not disappointed when he found out he had been reading her signals wrong. But when it came to Hapi, he found it difficult to stay upset, especially not when she was the one doing him a favor. “So are we going to stay outside this building or are you going to take me to your place?” She asked, taking out her phone and getting her front facing camera so she could already start removing some of the meticulously done makeup. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylvain tensed up as he leaned against the brick wall beside her and he averted his eyes for a second as he did his best to find a way to word out his problem with bringing her back. Apparently he was taking too long to respond, and she only gave him a look that asked </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s wrong with you?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a… A rule that I don’t bring women by my apartment.” The words were slow and well thought out, but what he didn’t expect was for Hapi to laugh at him, the sort of laugh she had earlier that day where she was holding her stomach, hunched over as if he had just told her the funniest joke she ever heard. She even snorted in the middle of her laughing fit. The longer she laughed, the more awkward he felt when he realized just how lame that must have sounded, but that was a genuine code of his. “Hey, it’s not that funny.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginger, are you two dimensional? You’re such a loser, I can’t believe you.” Her words were harsh, but when she said them with such a smile accompanied with some laughter, it eased the sting a little, though having her call him out caused his cheeks to flare up. “Listen, I told you this is about trust and respect, but if you’re going to see me as </span>
  <em>
    <span>different </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the other women you have your sights set on, then it’s not going to work out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Already he could tell that he wasn’t going to like it when she threw his words back into his face, and something told him that this wasn’t going to be the last time she would do so. For someone who gave the impression that she didn’t care enough to listen to what you had to say, she paid a lot of attention apparently. As he stood there with his brain desperately trying to find an argument to her decently valid argument, she grabbed his hand and rolled her eyes. Whenever it was with anyone else, he was able to explain himself, no matter how much of a douche it made him sound. He didn’t want women getting attached and knowing where he lived, but Hapi wouldn’t have accepted that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So since you don’t have an actual argument, just lead me to your car and bring me over so we can negotiate terms now that the others are in on this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was a hurricane, Sylvain decided. Did what she wanted and ripped all of his personal set rules to shreds, leaving him a stumbling and stuttering wreck in her wake. There was no argument to her words, and instead he did what she said and led her to his admittedly very nice, expensive, foreign car. Hapi seemed unsurprised at the fact someone like him would own quite a nice car and when she got into the passenger side with no hesitation still continued to be a shock to his system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he got into the driver’s side and started his car, Hapi was already pushing buttons on the radio and messing with the settings, causing Sylvain to push her hands away with a scowl. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t touch another man’s radio, what kind of junk are you going to make us listen to on our way there?” He said, though when he quieted down, he could hear one of his favorite songs from one of his favorite bands. It was a classic rock hit, a song that Miklan used to listen to with him before their relationship turned sour. Seeing his reaction, Hapi seemed rather smug about her choice, which only made him roll his eyes. “Don’t get cocky, you must have already chosen one of my presets.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I just turned to the station I listen to in the car I share with the others. This is one of my favorites.” She informed him before buckling herself up. All he could do was laugh in response and buckle himself in as well, deciding to leave it at that before he pulled out of the parking spot and started to make his way back to his apartment, breaking one of his biggest rules he had set for himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course they had the same taste in music. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So this story was a ride to start- I have like three ongoing multichapter fics, but I only intend on this one being 3-5 chapters. Don't hold me to that though if it's longer, I just really enjoy this ship</p></blockquote></div></div>
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